The mayor of Austin is the official head of the city of Austin in the U.S. state of Texas. The office was established in 1840 after Austin incorporated as a city in 1839. The mayor of Austin is elected to a four-year term and limited to serving no more than two terms.[2]

Mayor of Austin
Flag of the City of Austin
Incumbent
Kirk Watson
since January 6, 2023
ResidencePrivate residence
Term lengthFour years
renewable once
Inaugural holderEdwin Waller
Formation1840
Salary$134,191[1]
Websiteaustintexas.gov/mayor

Kirk Watson took office as mayor on January 6, 2023, for a second term, having served as mayor from 1997 to 2001.[3]

Duties and powers

edit

Austin has a council–manager form of government which means day-to-day operations of the city are run by the city manager. The mayor is the head of city government ceremonially. The mayor is technically a member of the city council and is required to preside at all meetings. The mayor is also allowed to vote on all matters that come before the city council, but has no veto powers.[4]

As of fiscal year 2022–2023, the salary for the mayor is set at $134,191.

Election

edit

The mayor is elected in a citywide election. Currently, elections occur every four years during even-numbered years. Elections are non-partisan and by majority, but if no candidate receives a majority a run-off election is called between the top two candidates who received the most votes.[5]

Succession

edit

Per city code of ordinances, if the mayor is absent or disabled, the Mayor Pro Tem is to act as mayor until the mayor returns or an election is held to fill the vacancy.[6]

The mayor is subject to recall by registered voters if a petition is signed and filed that contains the signatures of 10 percent of the qualified voters. If the petition is verified, a recall election is called at the earliest convenient available date. If the recall passes, the mayor immediately vacates office. There are two limitations to the recall process. First, no recall petition can be filed until the mayor has been in office for at least six months. Second, the mayor will not be subject to more than one recall.[7]

List of mayors of Austin

edit
Years of service Mayor
January 1840 – August 1840[8] Edwin Waller
August 1840 – 1841 Thomas William Ward
1841–1842 Moses Johnson
1842–1843 Asa Brigham
1843–1845 Joseph W. Robertson
1845–1847 James M. Long
1847–1849 Jacob M. Harrell
1850–1852 Samuel G. Haynie
1852–1853 George J. Durham
1853 Thomas William Ward
1853–1854 William P. deNormandie
1854–1855 John S. Ford
1855–1856 John T. Cleveland
1856–1857 Edward R. Peck
1857–1858 Thomas F. Sneed
1858–1860 Ben F. Carter
1860–1863 James W. Smith
1863–1865 Samuel G. Haynie
1865–1866 Thomas William Ward
1866–1867 William H. Carr
1867–1871 Leander Brown
1871–1872 John W. Glenn
1872–1877 Thomas Benton Wheeler
1877–1879 Jacob Carl DeGress
1879–1881 William A. Saylor
1881–1883 L. M. Crooker
1883–1884 William A. Saylor
1884–1887 John W. Robertson
1887–1890 Joseph Nalle
1890–1895 John McDonald
1896–1897 Louis Hancock
1897–1901 John Dodd McCall
1901–1905 Robert E. White
1905–1907 William D. Shelley
1907–1909 Frank M. Maddox
1909–1919 Alexander Penn Wooldridge
1919–1926 William D. Yett
1926–1933 Paul W. McFadden
1933–1949 Tom Miller
1949–1951 Taylor Glass
1951–1953 William S. Drake, Jr.
1953–1955 Charles A. McAden
1955–1961 Tom Miller
1961–1967 Lester E. Palmer
1967–1969 Harry Akin
1969–1971 Travis LaRue
1971–1975 Roy Butler
1975–1977 Jeffrey M. Friedman
1977 – February 1983 Carole Keeton Rylander
February 1983 – May 1983 (acting)[8] John Treviño Jr.
May 1983 – 1985 Ron Mullen
1985 – June 15, 1988 Frank C. Cooksey
June 15, 1988 – June 15, 1991 C. Lee Cooke
June 15, 1991 – June 15, 1997 Bruce Todd
June 15, 1997 – November 9, 2001[9] Kirk Watson
November 9, 2001 – June 16, 2003 Gustavo L. "Gus" Garcia
June 16, 2003 – June 22, 2009 Will Wynn
June 22, 2009 – January 6, 2015 Lee Leffingwell
January 6, 2015 – January 6, 2023 Steve Adler
January 6, 2023 – Present Kirk Watson

References

edit
  1. ^ Martin, Ken (September 10, 2014). "Budget Gives Stealth Pay Boost". TheAustinBulldog.org. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  2. ^ "New City Council members draw term lengths during inauguration ceremony | AustinTexas.gov - the Official Website of the City of Austin". Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "Austin voters elect Kirk Watson, who served as mayor two decades ago, to lead the city again". December 13, 2022.
  4. ^ "Municode Library". Municode.com. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  5. ^ "Municode Library". Municode.com. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  6. ^ "Municode Library". Municode.com. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  7. ^ "Municode Library". Municode.com. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "History of Mayors | AustinTexas.gov". www.austintexas.gov. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  9. ^ "What kind of mayor was Watson? - The Austin Bulldog". Retrieved March 10, 2023.